Bound and Gagged

WEST OCEAN CITY – A West
Ocean City man was arrested on assault and false imprisonment charges last week
after allegedly binding and gagging his live-in girlfriend.

Around 5 a.m. last
Thursday, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on
Old Bridge Rd. in West Ocean City for a reported domestic disturbance.
Immediately upon arrival on the scene, the deputy observed a female victim run
from the residence partially clothed with a gag in her mouth and her hands bound
behind her back.

Detectives from the
Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) arrived and determined through
further investigation the victim’s live-in boyfriend, identified as John Eric
Shelton, 49, of West Ocean City, was allegedly responsible for the attack.
Shelton was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and reckless
endangerment. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and ordered
held on a $25,000 bond.

Stolen Goods Found In
Luggage

NEWARK – A Bear, Del.
woman was arrested on theft and drug charges last week in Newark after police
recovered stolen goods and marijuana in her luggage.

Around 9:15 p.m. last
Sunday, a Maryland State Police (MSP) trooper responded to a reported theft
complaint at a residence on Mulberry Street in Newark. During the
investigation, the trooper was able to recover the victim’s stolen property in
the luggage of Jane Ellis Anne Walker. Also located in Walker’s luggage was a
substantial amount of marijuana along with numerous smoking devices.

Assault Charges For
Grabbing Wheel

OCEAN CITY – A Salisbury
man was arrested on assault and reckless endangerment charges last weekend
after allegedly grabbing the wheel of the vehicle driven by his girlfriend
while driving down Coastal Highway and causing it to swerve into the path of a
pick-up truck with four passengers riding in the back.

Around 3:50 a.m. last
Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on routine patrol
began following a blue Ford on Coastal Highway after observing the female
driver and her male passenger, later identified as Dale Anderson Gibbs, Jr.,
22, of Salisbury, in an apparent argument. According to police reports, both
occupants appeared to be in a heated argument and Gibbs could be seen flailing
his arms.

At one point, the
vehicle pulled into the left turn lane at 59th Street and came to a
complete stop midway in the lane as the argument apparently continued before
proceeding south again on Coastal Highway. As the vehicle approached 49th
Street, the officer, who was still following close behind, observed it swerve
sharply from the left lane into the middle lane before the driver corrected the
maneuver.

A similar incident
happened at 27th Street, according to police reports. The vehicle
swerved sharply from the left lane into the center lane, which was occupied by
a pick-up truck with no less than four passengers riding in the back. As a
result, the passenger truck also had to swerve to avoid a collision with the
Ford.

The female driver then
hit the breaks in the middle of the left lane, causing the police cruiser
following behind it to do the same to avoid a collision. According to police
reports, the police car stopped just a foot short of running into the back of
the Ford. The officer pulled over the vehicle and made contact with the female
driver, who was visibly upset and shaking, according to police reports.

The officer asked the
driver why she had swerved two times, the second time almost hitting the
pick-up truck full of passengers. The driver explained Gibbs had twice grabbed
the steering wheel while the vehicle was driving down Coastal Highway and
pulled the vehicle from the left lane into the center lane.

As a result, Gibbs was
arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault and two counts of
reckless endangerment. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and
was released on his own recognizance.

Off-Duty Trooper Nabs
Pot Smoker

OCEAN CITY – A Temple
Hills, Md. man was arrested on marijuana possession charges last weekend after
an off-duty MSP trooper observed him walking down the street with a pot-laced
cigar.

Shortly before midnight
last Saturday, an off-duty MSP trooper was in the area of 30th
Street and Baltimore Ave. in Ocean City when he observed a suspect, later
identified as Kyle Frederick Green, 20, of Temple Hills, walking down the
sidewalk clearly displaying a marijuana cigar. The off-duty trooper detained
Green until an on-duty trooper could arrive on the scene.

Green was arrested and
charged with possession of marijuana and was taken before a court commissioner
before being released on his own recognizance.

Jail For Pines Stabbing
Incident

SNOW HILL – A Berlin
man, arrested on first-degree assault and other serious charges last October
after stabbing another man in an Ocean Pines restaurant during an alleged
dispute over auto repairs, pleaded guilty this week in Circuit Court to
second-degree assault and driving while impaired and was sentenced to three
years in jail, most of which was suspended in favor of probation and a fine.

On Oct. 27, 2009,
Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies and MSP troopers responded to Whisker’s Bar
and Grill in the Pines Plaza for a reported stabbing. Upon arrival, deputies
observed the suspect, later identified as Donald Lewis, 67, of Berlin, backing out
of a parking spot in the lot and nearly striking a deputy’s patrol car.

Lewis was ordered to
stop and exit the vehicle and appeared intoxicated, according to police reports
on the incident. The investigation revealed Lewis had entered the bar and began
to argue with another man over a car repair issue. Lewis then pulled out a
knife and stabbed it into the victims’ belly, causing a superficial injury.

Lewis was subsequently
arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless
endangerment, carrying a concealed deadly weapon with intent to injure,
malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication,
driving under the influence of alcohol and several other traffic charges
related to his attempt to flee the scene.

This week in Circuit
Court, Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault and was
sentenced to three years in jail, all but one year of which was suspended. He
was also sentenced to 60 days for driving while impaired. Lewis was placed on
probation for 18 months and fined $500. His conviction in the October incident
triggered a violation of his probation for a March 2008 incident and was
sentenced to an additional 11 months in jail for resisting arrest and driving
while intoxicated for that incident.

Sex Assault Charges
Dropped

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
Pines man arrested last November on first-degree assault, false imprisonment
and numerous sex offenses after allegedly holding a woman against her will and
threatening her during an incident in West Ocean City had the charges against
him dropped this week in Worcester County Circuit Court.

On Nov. 2, 2009, a
Worcester County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to an area on Route 611 in
West Ocean City to check on the welfare of a female victim in a van. The deputy
responded to the area, but found no trace of the van or the female victim.

A few days later, on
Nov. 7, 2009. the female victim called the deputy and related the details of an
incident that began back on Nov. 1. The victim told police she was living in a shelter
in Salisbury when a man, later identified as Mike Ivey, 53, of Ocean Pines,
allegedly came in and asked if anyone wanted to earn money by cleaning
condominiums in Ocean City. The female victim agreed and got into Ivey’s van
and rode with him to Ocean City.

Ivey allegedly told the
victim he owned several properties and offered her a place to live as long as
he employed her. Ivey then showed the victim three houses along Route 611 and
told her to pick the one she wanted to live in. At some point, Ivey allegedly
drove the victim in his van to a campground off Route 611 where they got into
an argument. In her original statement, the victim told police Ivey physically
threw her out of the van and took her cell phone, but she later got back into
the van and headed back to the residence on Route 611 where she was staying.

It was at that point
that the victim learned Ivey did not own the properties. According to the
victim’s statement, Ivey then became violent and began hitting her several
times in the head and then threatened to sexually assault her, according to
police reports.

Throughout the incident,
the female victim could hear her cell phone ringing repeatedly and at one point
was able to open it so that anyone that was calling her could hear what was
going on. Ivey soon discovered the open phone and closed and hid it, during
which the victim attempted to escape. However, she could not get away from
Ivey, who allegedly grabbed her and threw her back on the bed and began hitting
her again, according to police reports.

The victim told police
Ivey allegedly threw her down on the bed face first and pushed on her back and
neck area so hard that she had trouble breathing and began to hyperventilate.
The victim told police she ultimately threw up while Ivey was pushing on her
neck and back and trying unsuccessfully to have sex with her. The victim told
police she was in fear for her life and was afraid of what her attacker would
do next, but Ivey calmed down eventually and let her put her clothes back on.

The victim told police
Ivey later apologized and said what he did was wrong. He also allegedly told
her, “let’s forget about this and let me buy you a beer,” according to police
reports. Ivey then went back to his van, but the victim refused to go with him.
When he drove off, she grabbed her belongings and ran across the street to a
nearby bar where she called a friend to come get her, according to police
reports.

The victim told police
she waited a few days to report the incident because she was scared and also
embarrassed about what had happened. She later was able to identify Ivey from a
police photo line-up and he was arrested and charged with first- and
second-degree assault, attempted first- and second-degree sex offense, reckless
endangerment and false imprisonment.

This week in Circuit
Court, however, the seven charges against Ivey related to the alleged incident
were “nolle prossed,” or not prosecuted.

Jail For Prescription
Drug Theft

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
Pines man arrested in November after swiping prescription drugs from a
residence while working as a contractor pleaded guilty last week in District
Court to possession of controlled dangerous substance and was sentenced to 30
days in jail.

On November 18, Ocean
Pines Police arrested David Neal Cherry, Jr., 40, and charged him with theft
under $1,000 and possession of CDS after an investigation revealed he was
involved in the theft of prescription drugs while performing home improvement
duties for another resident in the community. Last week, Cherry pleaded guilty
to possession of CDS and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was also fined
$200.

Obstructing Nets
Probation

OCEAN CITY – An Ocean
City man arrested in March after attempting to hide a juvenile runaway wanted
by police pleaded guilty last week in District Court to obstructing and
hindering an investigation and was fined and placed on probation.

Around 11 p.m. on March
15, Maryland State Police troopers received a call about a repeat juvenile
runaway under a court-ordered curfew because of drug offenses. Troopers
responded to the Bayshore Drive area in Ocean City and went to several
residences where they believed the missing youth might be located.

Troopers made contact
with a man identified as Timothy Alexander Wilson, 20, of Ocean City, after
receiving information the wanted juvenile was with him. According to police
reports, Wilson attempted to deceive the investigation trooper and told the
officer the juvenile was not with him.

Meanwhile, Worcester
County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested another juvenile known to be an
associate of the missing juvenile on multiple open warrants. During that
investigation, officers learned the wanted juvenile was indeed with Wilson.
Around 3:15 a.m., MSP troopers went back to Bayshore Drive and located and arrested
Wilson, charging him with contributing to a child in need of assistance,
hindering a police investigation and obstruction of justice.

The missing juvenile was
located about a block away in a laundromat hiding from police under a folding
table. Last week in District Court, Wilson pleaded guilty to obstructing and
hindering an investigation and was placed on probation for one year and fined
$50.

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